William P. Benner, age 92, of Lemont, IL, formerly of Ft. Wayne, IN passed away Sept. 1st, 2013. A veteran of WWII, served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army with Company C, 715th Railway Operations Battalion.
Beloved husband of Theresa nee Wozniak, and the late Wanda I. Benner; loving father of Judy (William) Herman; adored grandfather of the late Chad Kelley, and late infant Wesley Kelley, Rex Wise, Angela (Scott) Grosetephon, and Leslie (Ryan) Pressley; cherished great-grandfather of (6) six.
He worked as a brakeman/conductor for the Penn Central Railroad, and retired after 43 yrs. service with Conrail. He was a member of Local #0298 United Transportation Union for 73 yrs. Funeral services Wednesday Sept. 4, 2013, 9:30a.m. from Markiewicz Funeral Home, P.C., 108 Illinois St., Lemont, IL 60439, to SS. Cyril & Methodius Church, for Mass at 10 a.m. Interment parish cemetery

The Chicago Railroad Fair was an event organized to celebrate and commemorate 100 years of railroad history west of Chicago, Illinois. It was held in Chicago in 1948 and 1949 along the shore of Lake Michigan and is often referred to as "the last great railroad fair" with 39 railroad companies participating. The board of directors for the show was a veritable "Who's Who" of railroad company executives.
History of the fair
The origin of the fair traces back to the Chicago and North Western Railway (CNW), which at the time was the successor of the first railroad to operate out of Chicago, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad. CNW was seeking a way to commemorate 100 years of railroading in Chicago, especially as it was done on the CNW itself. Public Relations Manager F.V. Koval is credited with developing the idea behind the fair.
The CNW advertising and public relation staff went to work to promote the show in the early months of 1948, beginning with a series of photographs made by company photographer Don Lidikay of people in 19th century costumes posing with the locomotive Pioneer, which had pulled the first train out of Chicago in 1848.[1]
A highlight of the fair was the presence of the Freedom Train.The Freedom Train travelled the country from September 17, 1947, through Jan 22, 1949, and was at the Railroad Fair from July 5 – 9. It held many documents and artifacts from the National Archives. Available for public viewing were the original United States Constitution, Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Security of the documents was the responsibility of the Marine Corps.

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If you have any materials connected to these great Army Railway units please share them here with the families of the soldiers. If you are a collector or memorabilia dealer PLEASE share copies or scans of items BEFORE you sell these priceless materials to private collectors . I will hold the copies until after they sell. It means so much to the families of the guy's that actually served in these units.

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